*A/N~

            So, this is just a random drabble of sorts. It’s a little more personal than anything else I’ve ever written, so it may seem a little raw and unformed at parts, and if it does, I’m sorry.  

                        ~~Mak~~

Chapter One

            Sungyeol did not like the kid.

Nothing anybody told him could convince him of anything other than his view of: Kim Myungsoo was too clingy, too shy, and too quiet. He rolled his eyes as he slid his bag off of his shoulders to fall into the disintegrating plastic of the school desk-chair. In his eyes, Myungsoo only acted shy in order to appeal to people, and was actually a vicious, cutting, gossiping stuck-up, just like the other people that Sungyeol had met thus far.

Basically friendless, Sungyeol stood in a corner of the room, watching people talk comfortably amongst themselves. Ordinarily, (back home) he would have meshed with each group, talking comfortably, as well, and then moving along, until his closest friend arrived. As it was, Sungyeol had made one friend, and waited on him to arrive, standing in the corner, feeling smaller than he’d prefer.

Woohyun’s arrival was loud, and he burst through the double doors of the room, immediately seeking out Sungyeol, looking very comfortable in his jacket and jeans. Sungyeol plucked at the scratchy fabric of his military uniform as Woohyun drew closer, and finally threw an arm around his shoulders.

“How’s that uniform, ?” Woohyun asked jovially. Sungyeol only stared at him. Yes, Woohyun may have been his only friend, and yeah, sure, he may have one class with him, and eat lunch with him, and walk with Woohyun during band breaks during football games, but sometimes, Woohyun could be so annoying, and that was one of those times. Woohyun took the hint and backed off of Sungyeol, dropping his bags to the floor. Then, he slid to the floor, and began rifling through his gym bag, frantically searching for a dollar.

“I need food,” he whined, tugging on Sungyeol’s pant leg. Sungyeol grumbled and threw him a foil-wrapped bar, which Woohyun took gratefully.

“Ew. Dark chocolate. Really?” He asked, tossing the bar back. Sungyeol rolled his eyes. I’m sorry you don’t like what I like, geez.

The bell rang, shattering the tranquility of the before-school quiet, and the two friends picked up their things and began to leave the room. As Sungyeol attempted to cross the threshold, he collided with Myungsoo, who promptly shot him a dirty look and continued walking with his girlfriend out of the door. Sungyeol was suddenly aware of the smell of clean clothes, and a very unique, pleasant undertone, before the scent was gone, lost in the heat of warm bodies flooding the hallways.

Two weeks, a month, two months passed, and Sungyeol’s dislike for Kim Myungsoo had faded, becoming a toleration, as Myungsoo slowly formed a shaky friendship with Sungyeol’s older brother. Then, the toleration faded into a form of grudging like. Without even realizing it, Sungyeol had grown steadily closer to Myungsoo, if only by the barest association.

One afternoon, after a rigorous practice with the marching band, Sungyeol headed home with Woohyun, stopping to feed and water livestock a mile away from home, before storming into Sungyeol’s house, stampeding upstairs, and collapsing on Sungyeol’s bed. Warm, peaceful chatter filled the room, and any shreds of annoyance that Sungyeol had felt towards Woohyun before were gone, entirely obliterated, and nothing was left but a fondness and a desire to be closercloseevencloser, and both of them tolerated the skinship that the other expressed at times, although they were both not overly fond of being touched.

Sungyeol’s older brother came running upstairs, minutes after the younger two had arrived, panting, and livid with anger.

“What’s wrong?” Sungyeol asked, momentarily disregarding the fact that his brother had crossed into hostile territory. (Sungyeol was protective of his bedroom, and never allowed anyone other than Woohyun and his parents to enter unannounced)

“Myungsoo. He’s upset, and he was crying when I left. He’s trying to break up with Minha, but she won’t let him,” his brother spat, nearly shaking.

Woohyun rolled over onto his side.

“So? Tell him that he should just dump her, and move on, and find a girl that will actually like him, and let him do what he wants without guilt-tripping him in and out of what she wants to do, and not what he wants to do,” his cutting advice rang out. Two and a-half months ago, Sungyeol would have agreed whole-heartedly, but now, he was full of nothing but concern for Myungsoo.

“Yah. Can I use your phone to call him?” He asked, holding his hand out. His words had issued from his lips as more of a command than a question, but his brother passed over the phone without any complaint.

Sungyeol walked down the stairs, heart pounding in his throat (he hated calling people that he’d never called before) and strode from the house to sit on the very edge of their concrete porch.

            Myungsoo’s voice answered the phone tentatively, and Sungyeol jumped.

            “Uhm, hi? It’s Sungyeol. My hyung told me something was wrong with you and Minha, and I wanted to know if you were okay,” he managed awkwardly. A sniffle was heard over the line, and Sungyeol froze. If Myungsoo was crying, somehow, someway, it was too much for him to handle. He didn’t like people crying anyway, but with Myungsoo crying, it was somehow worse.

            “Yeah, I’m fine. I just want..”

            Sungyeol stayed on the line with Myungsoo for over an hour, helping the other boy through his fears and discomforts, until they ended the call, one with a grateful “thank you,” and the other with a surprised, “no problem, anytime. Call back if you wanna talk some more.”

            At that point, neither of them had known it, but that one phone call was to be the very start of a friendship of the like that Sungyeol was never going find again.

            Just the next day, Sungyeol was swept up into a tight hug that smelled of clean clothes, and a unique undertone, and Myungsoo dragged him to the bathroom, and cried with him until the bell rang. He had just ended his relationship with Minha, and was so torn, so upset, that Sungyeol couldn’t do anything other than hold him and wish that something would come alone to make things better for Myungsoo.

            You see, there was a quality about Sungyeol, a quality that could in fact be named his fatal flaw. When it came to people that he cared about, he would never leave their side for anything, no matter how much it hurt him to stay, or how much the recipient of his loyalty wanted him gone. Unless something happed to drastically change his outlook of that person, or thing, he would remain a steadfast companion and backer until the end of time.

            Seven months flew by, and the boys were inseparable. Woohyun sometimes would hang out with the two, but nothing mattered to Myungsoo and Sungyeol, other than the other, and nothing could keep them apart. Late nights were spent talking, sharing deep emotions and secrets that shook the foundations of their bond, and made their friendship stronger.

            Every notion that Sungyeol had previously harbored about Myungsoo being a stuck-up, arrogant, gossiping prat had been obliterated, and washed away in the smell of clean clothes, and a smell that Sungyeol came to associate the nearness of Myungsoo with. Although he was not a person that particularly enjoyed being touched, when it was Myungsoo touching him, he would tolerate it, would actually reciprocate, and grew to enjoy and look forward to the hugs and the random touches on his arms or back. Those touches meant Myungsoo, and Myungsoo meant comfort.

            Without realizing it, Myungsoo had become his world.

            Sungyeol reveled in his ability to make Myungsoo laugh, make him smile, and keep him from crying. It had practically become a known fact: if Myungsoo cried, Sungyeol cried. Regardless of the fact that Sungyeol was an easy crier, he didn’t often tear up for another person, unless said person happened to be a certain Kim Myungsoo. Not even Woohyun could cause Sungyeol to cry, not on most days. Sungyeol only cried when Myungsoo cried, and they would end up crying together, huddled, each with their face in the other’s shoulder, arms tight around torso’s and backs, the height difference making no difference in the comfort of being touched and having someone there that understood and could console them.

            Everything was heading towards a blissfully happy, new school year, when suddenly, (at least to Sungyeol’s mind) tragedy struck. As abruptly as water being shut off, Myungsoo began to leave Sungyeol every day at lunch, no longer lingering by his side to talk over trivial matters. No, Sungyeol no longer mattered in the eyes of Kim Myungsoo.

            Kim Taeyeon had arrived, and with her legendary prowess, her intelligence and her charm, had stolen Kim Myungsoo away.

            Of course, at first, Sungyeol had been merely jealous, but after a few weeks of complete dissociation with Myungsoo, began to sink down into a stupor of sadness and mourning. What he was mourning, he could not exactly explain, only that he was mourning. He was suddenly fragile, and began to seek comfort in the touches of Woohyun, and his other two friends, Dongwoo and Howon. Nothing metered up to the small shreds of comfort that he got when Myungsoo would tap on his arm to pass a note, simply for the reason that the comforting smell of pure Myungsoo was no longer there, and his joyous smile, and wondrously giddy laugh were no longer in evidence around Sungyeol.

            Sungyeol was lost, confused and lost, and he could do nothing to change that. His breaking point was reached one day, for the first time reaching the very edge of his emotions, the day that Myungsoo had left with Kim Taeyeon and abandoned Sungyeol with Dongwoo and Howon, and two others.

            The plan was that they were going to Howon’s house to watch movies, and generally hang out. Myungsoo was going to drive over in a few minutes after getting a new phone, and he and Sungyeol were supposed to see each other for the first time in several weeks.  However, it ended up as such:

            Myungsoo never showed up.

            Sungyeol sank into a dark, sad cloud, and couldn’t even breathe, couldn’t even hide his sadness through his jokes.  Even surrounded by Dongwoo and Howon was not enough.

            Yes, Howon was his friend, and Dongwoo was his friend, but they were not Myungsoo, and they were not enough.

            “Come join us,” Sungyeol texted, joking.

            “Can’t,” Myungsoo responded.

            “Pweeeese?”

            “Calm down; I’m trying.”

            “This …”

            “With Dongwoo and Howon?”

            “Yeeah.”

            “Why?”

            “You should be here, but chyou’re not.. Grrrr..”

            “Mianhamnida! I really am trying!”

            “It’s fine! Once it gets dark, we’re going to have cake!”

            “Sounds fun L”

            “You should join us. Please do; it’s going to be fun!”

            “I’m a bad friend. Why do I even claim a title like that?”

            Sungyeol stared at his phone in shock, then his eyes blurred. Bad friend? What was Myungsoo talking about? A tear slid down Sungyeol’s nose, brought on by confusion and sudden sadness. He was suddenly glad for the darkness of Howon’s living room, and the pale glow of the television. 

*A/N~ It's unfinished, but I'm going to work on it more tomorrow, or in a few days.

Comments are love!! 

~~Mak~~